Could 2017 be the year of the progressive Disney princess?

It's about time...

When it comes to Disney films, we all have our favourite, from the classic glass slipper wearing Cinderella, to the technicolour underwater tale The Little Mermaid. Within the movies, there are few things as iconic as the array of Princesses clad in their billowing ball gowns, falling in love with dashing Princes in far off kingdoms.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

To many of us Disney seems like it has been around forever but it is actually surprisingly new. The Walt Disney Company was actually founded in 1923 by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney. The very first feature length animation by Disney was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in [1937] and boy has Disney changed since then.

In the intervening years we’ve been introduced to the likes of Pocahontas, Mulan and Rapunzel just to name a few, each updating the image of the Disney Princess in their own way.

This month the first full-length trailer of the new Disney live action Beauty and The Beastadaption was unveiled and it was simply magical. Cue us dancing around our kitchen doing our very best Belle impression.

Emma Watson, who plays the lead role, is a feminist who acts as the UN Ambassador for women, campaigning for things like education for all girls and generally smashing that glass ceiling.

Therefore it may not come as a surprise for you to hear that as part of her upcoming role, she has given Belle a feminist edge by giving her very own career. In the original animated fairytale Belle is a uniquely curious girl with a thirst for literature, however there is no mention of her pursuing any kind of profession. But this time, instead of just her father being the eccentric inventor, Belle also assumes this role.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Watson told Entertainment Weekly,“In the animated movie, it’s her father who is the inventor, and we actually co-opted that for Belle.”

In addition to this costume designer Jacqueline Durran, whom Watson worked closely with on that iconic yellow dress, revealed that Watson refused to wear a corset. “In Emma’s reinterpretation, Belle is an active princess. She did not want a dress that was corseted or that would impede her in any way.” Introducing the new and improved Princess: active, not passive.

This is just another milestone for Disney in their overall improvement in the way in which they portray women in their films. In the last ten years we have seen Disney slowly but surely break the mould of the traditional, submissive princess.

In 2013Frozenwas unveiled, marking perhaps the clearest, or certainly most widely discussed, leap away from ‘old fashioned’ Disney. The awarding winning and critically acclaimed animation provided us with inspiring female role models in the form of Anna and Elsa.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

This time the love story was not between a man and woman, with the man rescuing a helpless damsel, but instead a refreshingly different tale of two sisters and their familial love for one another. There is even a quip about the ludicrous regular occurrence of princesses ‘getting engaged to someone they just met.’ Something we can totally get on board with.

But Frozen wasn’t the first to make this transition. Back in 2012, Brave’s Princess Merida with her independent, fiery demeanour had us all jumping with joy. Her refusal to adhere to the archaic traditions of arranged marriages in her kingdom was an inspiring far cry from the likes of helpless Princesses Cinderella and Aurora. Finally there was someone we could relate to and would be happy for our kids to look up to.

Although not as critically recognised as Frozen and Brave, The Princess and The Frog has also participated in this break away from outdated gender stereotypes.

Not only did it offer us our first black Disney princess, in the form of Princess Tiana, but a woman who was bursting with entrepreneurial spirit and independence. Yes there was a love story but whilst memory of that has all but faded what remains is the message of a strong woman striving to make something of herself.

Disney

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Most recently unveiled last month is Moana with a title character who is both lively and strong-willed. Set in Ancient Polynesia the film focuses on Moana who sets off on an oceanic adventure. In a similar vein to Frozen and The Princess and The Frog, she doesn’t find a man on this adventure, but rather herself. In fact there is no mention of a love interest whatsoever.

As Disney has increased its global success its audience has grown and diversified and it’s only appropriate that the studios reflect that diversity in its films. Granted, Disney still has a long way to go, but it has come on leaps and bounds in just the last five years and that is something to applaud.

RED, PART OF THE HEARST UK FASHION & BEAUTY NETWORK
Red Online participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.